Solid rev tyman! Nothing to add to it!

Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off

"I've only got so much time to listen to stuff that sounds immediately awful? And rates aren't that important?"



Dumb reason lol why even rate something then

Album Rating: 2.0

Seeing 'breakdown' pop up a lot in this review. Without Ben, I don't know if I'll find this as enjoyable as their previous efforts, but the emphasis on atmosphere has me intrigued.



Well-written review my man.

Album Rating: 4.5

album slaps

Album Rating: 4.0

top notch record. emphasize on more atmospheric textures really add to their overall sound. New singer is also really capable

Album Rating: 4.5

“Sorry your review thread went to shit, Tyman. Pos'd, btw”

haha, I’ve missed these screwed up threads, this is great. Thanks for the pos!

Album Rating: 4.5

“Didn't now Trey also had a hand in the guitar writing that's dope”

yea it’s really cool! it looks like he writes a lot of guitar riffs and progressions in order to find a solid groove (based off of what he posts on social media)

Album Rating: 2.0

"Dumb reason lol why even rate something then"



I won't say any more about this album but I'll say something about the practice of sometimes rating an album based on hearing one or two songs, and why I take that to be unproblematic.



What we are doing in listening to an album is, in a sense, gathering evidence about whether the album is good or bad (relative to our aesthetic sensibilities). The evidence comes in the form of our aesthetic reactions to what we are hearing. It seems to me that when a song from an album produces a negative aesthetic reaction in me that reaches a certain threshold (if, say, I just absolutely hate it), I am justified in judging that the whole album is bad (relative to my aesthetic sensibilities). Past a certain threshold, it becomes unlikely that the artists involved in the album share enough of an aesthetic sensibility with me to produce other songs that I will enjoy. And if I have evidence that the song is representative of the album's overall style, that increases my justification.



Granted, it remains *possible* that listening to more will change my judgment. But possibilities come cheap. Even if I listened to the whole album 100 times, it would still be possible that the 101st will be the one where the whole thing clicks. So we have to weigh up the costs and benefits of seeking out more evidence (of listening to more of the album). It seems to me that in some cases the expected benefits do not outweigh the expected costs. If it seems really unlikely to me, given how much I have hated what I've heard, that further listens will change my mind, and listening further will cost me valuable time, then I am justified in ceasing to seek out further evidence. Overall, then, it seems to me that I can be justified, in some cases, in forming a judgment on a whole album based on only hearing a part of it, and that I can be justified in not seeking to hear more of it.

Album Rating: 2.0

Now what about whether I can be justified in expressing my judgment on an album, in the type of situation just described, in a public forum in the form of a rating? It seems to me that here I have to weigh up the expected benefits of giving a rating versus the expected costs. The expected benefits could be numerous. Rating the album could help me remember that I have already tried it out, so that I do not accidentally try it out later in the future. Rating albums could be an intrinsically enjoyable experience. This is a rating website that people come to for entertainment. Enjoying rating is clearly an intelligible thing. What about the expected costs? Any relevant costs would be the potential negative impact on the artist. Principally, it would be the risk of other potential listeners being deterred, by my rating, from checking out the album for themselves. But there is just very, very little risk of that. If other rates have been generally positive, my one low rate will have very little impact on the album's overall rating. And I'm not some taste-influencing user. I am - what's the word? - "irrelevant". So nobody is going to not check an album out just because nightbringer doesn't like it. This is what I meant by saying that rates (at least, *my* rates), aren't that important. Of course, I wouldn't *review* an album without hearing the whole album (and hearing it multiple times). And I tend not to even negatively rate albums without hearing the whole if the album has only a couple votes. For in those situations, my rate will appreciably affect the average, and thus risk deterring other listeners.



Overall, then, I can see nothing wrong with my practice. It might annoy some people. But I don't take myself to have a duty not to induce feelings of annoyance in other users. That said, I try and be a positive user. I'm not going to repeatedly spam negative comments about an album in a thread. And I haven't done so here. If you have any counter arguments to the above, I'd be interested in hearing them.

Sweet. jesus.

But yeah, I agree dude. I also rate sometimes based on 3 or 4 songs (negatively, that is).

If you don't enjoy smth at first, why forcing yourself with repeated listens until you like it in some form of enlightenment? Better move on to smth else that you like.

Your older self will thank you.

Album Rating: 4.5

Theres no arguing with these dudes nightbringers, they are stubborn, dont waste your breath

Album Rating: 4.5

glad my review brought controversy over something said in the thread

Blimey nightbringer, respect for the lengthy explanation - despite my own rule of thumb not aligning with yours. Personally I only rate something if I've heard it all the way though (sometimes several times, depends, but definitely at least once).

(I'll probably regret commenting given I have no interest in the album, not sure why I'm here tbh).

Album Rating: 2.0

Yeah, other approaches are definitely permissible! It's all about what you value and how that affects the cost/benefit analysis.



I realise that my explanation is long-winded and probably a little pompous. I'm an academic, that's just how I've been trained to express my thoughts. Probably a more socially adjusted academic could modulate their expression to come across a little better!

Album Rating: 4.5

whatever works best for you man, I personally listen through an album once or twice before I formulate an opinion rating... but at the end of the day it’s a rating that amounts to literally nothing

I'm not at all surprised by the revelation you're an academic based on the above night, haha.

I actually agree with your general point, if you feel the evidence supports the early abandonment of certain releases, then you're better off spending time elsewhere. Music I'm lukewarm to, or better yet 'conflicted' about can and often has won me over, but I can't remember hearing anything that started off terribly and ended up resulting in anything more than 'meh'. Is it worth the extra effort just to potentially break-even? Perhaps not. I'm just a stickler for my self-imposed rules and feel uncomfortable evaluating anything based on potentially insufficient evidence. It's not even about ratings, necessarily (although I do like logging what I've heard), I just dislike listening to half an album, regardless of situation.

Album Rating: 4.5

“I've only got so much time to listen to stuff that sounds immediately awful?”



Proceeds to write a small novel in the comments

Touché?

Although to be fair you can listen to music AND be typing at the same time, whether you're actually able to concentrate on both sufficiently is up for debate, guess that 'depends'.

Album Rating: 2.0

I have never rated based upon one song before, but I have certainly had instances where an album loses me and I'm not able to soldier through the whole effort. In general, I think it's important to try and take in as much of the record in question as possible, since it can certainly be possible that the one/two songs you heard were on the weaker side of the album. A lot of works floating around in the 3.5 - 4 range tend to have some sub-par instances here or there.



Even albums I love can have outliers that could give a false impression. Not the best example given its reception here, but if all you heard of Modest Mouse's "Strangers to Ourselves" was "Pistol," you'd deliver a judgement far different from one you may pass having heard the highlights.

Album Rating: 4.0

Just starting my go of this, sounds as good as I expected. Fucking gorgeous